Stormheart
by slightlytragic
Summary: Ochako struggled under a legacy that seemed so far away from her grasp. Katsuki struggled to stand out amongst his peers and establish himself. Izuku struggled to accept his own power, and lived in fear of it. Individually, these three, motivated by their struggles, could become amazing heroes, each in their own way. When they come together, though, they can be more. So much more.
1. The Next Symbols

**Arc One**

_**Rise of the Three**_

* * *

Chapter One

_The Next Symbols_

* * *

Toshinori didn't mean to brag, but as far as successors go…

He'd found a damned good one. He watched as she smashed through villain bots left and right, a confident smile on her face. The test was barely half-way over, and Ochako Uraraka was at the top of the chart, the only examinee that was even close to her being one by the name of _Katsuki Bakugo_.

Ochako had around three years of experience with _One For All _at this point, and it showed. While she was nowhere near Toshinori's level of mastery, she was more than promising.

"Your heir is doing well for herself, Toshinori," Nezu said from beside him. "Her training certainly shows."

"Yes, I like to think it does!" Toshinori said, excitedly. "She's worked hard nonstop to get to where she is, and I truly hope she sees her own progress."

"Many of these First Years show a great deal of potential," Nezu responded, sounding rather optimistic. "This Katsuki Bakugo is doing _very _well for himself too. Ingenium's younger brother seems to be tracking along at quite a fast pace as well…"

"Well," one of the test operators interjected, "it means nothing so far. The REAL test has yet to begin."

With the press of a button, Toshinori saw what the man had been referring to. The Zero Pointer. Massive, taller than any building in the test area, and seemingly invincible. It moved slowly enough, but it was still dangerous to anyone who couldn't move fast enough to get out of the way.

It was then that he saw his successor was one of those people.

"Hey, what happened?!" He asked. "She was fine a minute ago, why isn't she moving?"

Ochako Uraraka could be seen lying in the middle of the road, desperately… _Crawling _away…?

"There was a student trapped beneath some rubble, when she jumped into help him," the principal explained. "She used her extreme strength to pull him out… I wonder if she overdid it…"

Toshinori gritted his teeth. _Damn it, Uraraka… you saw someone in danger and stopped thinking about your limitations! Your desire to help people is the reason I chose you, but you've gotta be careful!_

"Uh… don't you think we should stop it, or at least redirect it? She's gonna be killed!" Toshinori said, panic rising. He watched, helpless, as the machine came closer and closer to destroying his heir.

"Give it a moment… Let things play out," Nezu responded. Toshinori clenched his fists.

She was only fifty feet away!

Then thirty…

Then twenty…

Then ten…

"Sir!" Toshinori said, whipping his head at Nezu. "You have to-!"

"Look!" One of the judges shouted.

On the screen, standing between Ochako and her imminent death, was a small, freckled, green-haired boy. He looked… abjectly terrified. His hands and arms shook, and tears streamed down his face but… there he stood, in front of certain death.

He let out a scream that the silenced projector couldn't reproduce, and thrusted his hands forward. He seemed to turn his head back to speak to Uraraka, Toshinori making out, '_Can you walk?' _before seeing clearly that the young girl couldn't. All at once, gusts of wind just strong enough to clearly be seen began to swarm around the boy, serving two purposes. Firstly, it halted the Zero Pointer's momentum. Secondly, a backdraft swirled around, wrapping around Ochako, and carrying her away, before gently setting her down in front of the exam entrance.

Seeing that he had accomplished his goal, the greenette faced forward to the machine, a look of raw determination in his eyes. Another soundless scream, and the wind began to shift, until it was…

"It's like he's forming a lance?" Shota Aizawa commented. "He's focusing the wind, aiming for the robot's 'neck' so to speak, as though he intends to cut through it… not a bad plan."

Sure enough, after a moment, the head fell from the machine's shoulders, the rest of the Zero Pointer following soon after.

"Who… who is this kid?" Midnight asked, a few seats away.

"Hmm… his name is Izuku Midoriya. This boy hasn't earned a single villain point, as of the present," Nezu said. "It's odd, seeing that he very clearly has a significant deal of power."

_Izuku Midoriya, _Shota thought. _You have come a long ways since that day. I hope you don't blame yourself anymore._

"Midoriya here is the adoptive brother of our second place contestant, Katsuki Bakugo. It seems both of the foster brothers were intent on making a name for themselves."

"He doesn't seem weak but… this is the very first time we've even seen him use his quirk. He scored top marks on the written exam, I don't think he's taking this lightly," Power Loader pointed out. "No… it's more like he knew that he could only use his power a limited number of times…? That's the only way I can make sense of it."

"Well, either way… the test is over. He can't get any villain points, so whether he passes or fails depends solely on rescue points," Nezu said. "Personally, I think he deserves more than enough to pass."

"For one show of strength? Is that all it's gonna take?" Midnight asked.

"It _was _more than a show of strength, to be fair. I don't think showing off even occurred to him," Shota rebutted. "I think his initial objective was to save the injured girl, and then he realized that, if this thing continued, someone else could easily be hurt instead. It was… a direct means of solving his problems, but I'd say he thought the way a real hero should. If he can manage to gain some control over that quirk, his judgement and analytical thinking that he displayed here could get him a long way."

The room was silent, but Shota's words rang through the minds of everyone there.

In the end, Izuku Midoriya made history. The first student ever to make it into the top ten of UA's practical exam leaderboards without a single villain point, sitting at 68 rescue points. This score put him at third place, beneath Katsuki's score of 77 villain points, and Ochako's score of 58 villain points, with another 40 rescue points, for a total of 98.

Toshinori smiled. He was more than proud of his protege, but this Izuku gave him a great deal to think on. He was glad that the boy had looked out for young Ochako.

Rising to his feet, he went to find his successor, and make sure she was doing alright.

Ochako was not doing alright.

* * *

She was a tad frustrated with herself, more than anything. It'd been nearly a year since she'd broken any bones with her quirk! Then, when it mattered most, what did she do? Shattered them! She had just been… too single-minded. She saw a few students in danger, with that monster of a robot barreling down on them, so she helped. Though, her lack of thought lead to her breaking her legs, just to be saved by that boy.

She sighed, looking out the window of the infirmary from her hospital bed. She had wanted, very desperately, to thank the boy who'd helped her. It had been so selfless of him, the least she could do was show her appreciation. But, alas, broken limbs kept her from doing so.

She looked down at her hand. The slight bumps on her fingertips seemed somehow more prominent now, though this had more to do with imagination. Her original quirk had been supercharged by _One For All_, looking back, she should have used that to save herself.

Still, she was rather confident. She was slightly worried about the written portion, but at least she knew she did well on the practical. She preferred that to the opposite.

A door knock distracted her from her thoughts. A few seconds went by before it occurred to her that they were waiting for a response.

"Oh, sorry! You can come in!"

The door opened slowly, and in came the boy she had been hoping to find.

"Oh, I know you! Windy Boy!" She exclaimed, giving him a smile.

"O-oh, h-h-hello, I… I-I wanted to know how you were doing?" He asked, the poor boy seeming nervous. Ochako opened her mouth to answer, when another voice cut her off.

"Agh! Dammit, Deku, I thought you'd gotten over the stutter!" The voice, loud and belligerent, interjected. The owner of said voice, an ash blond, red-eyed boy, entered the room behind the aforementioned 'Deku'.

"H-hey!" The greenette said, any nervousness seeming to melt. "Cut it out, Kacchan!"

"Ahhh, you're hopeless on your own, it isn't like you couldn't use the help," Kacchan responded rudely, though it lacked any real venom. The blond suddenly pointed at Ochako. "Oi, Round Face! Deku here wants to know you're doing well, he was worried that he might have hurt you with his quirk."

"R-Round Face?!" Ochako said, noticing after a moment that this Deku had been in sync with her.

"I'm sorry, please forgive him!" He said, bowing profusely. "He's well intentioned but he's also naturally inclined to being a jerk, it's okay if you hate him for it."

"I… uhm…" Ochako said, at a loss. She clapped her cheeks, gathering herself, remembering what was important. "Listen, thank you, Deku. You saved my life, honestly, and the way you did it was flawless. You're gonna be a great hero."

Deku was suddenly blushing, something Ochako found instantly adorable, before she noticed Kacchan's glare.

"Let's get this straight, right now, Round Face," he growled. "I get to call him Deku. Not you."

"Kacchan! She can call me what she wants!" Deku fired at him.

"Never!" He shouted, before turning to face Ochako. "His name is Izuku Midoriya. I'm Katsuki Bakugo. Make sure you get it straight, Round Face."

"I'm Ochako Uraraka. You could always just use my name, Bakugo," she said, more than a little peeved.

"He won't…" Izuku groaned. "Especially not since you beat him in the practical."

"Listen! The only person allowed to beat me is Deku here, and the only person allowed to beat him is me!" Katsuki yelled.

"Kacchan, she beat both of us. It's really not that big of a deal."

"Are you aiming for the top or not Deku?!"

"O-of course I am! But that doesn't mean yelling at the person in first place for doing better than us!"

"You wouldn't be saying that if you didn't think she was hot!"

A moment of silence stretched out, as Ochako watched Izuku process what his friend had said. It began with his eyes, widening slowly as he realized the full gravity of the situation. His face began to burn a crimson red, probably mirroring Ochako's own.

Meanwhile, Katsuki just smirked at the two of them, knowing full well that he'd struck a chord.

"KACCHAN!" Izuku shouted, before turning to Ochako. "I-I'm so sorry, he… he d-does this kinda thing…"

"O-oh, it's no problem," Ochako replied, giving him the most reassuring smile she could manage. "I am glad you're here though. I'd hoped to thank you earlier but I couldn't… well… move?" She laughed sheepishly.

"N-no worries," Izuku said, the blush only just beginning to fade.

"But man, that was so cool! Your quirk must be exceptionally powerful, do you control the wind or…?" The boy looked down a bit.

"Uh… it's complicated?" He said. Katsuki scoffed behind him.

"It's not, and you know it," The blond said derisively. Izuku turned to glare at him half heartedly prompting a shrug. Katsuki looked to Ochako. "Deku here just happens to hate his own quirk. It's very annoying." He turned back to Izuku. "At least you've been better at keeping your emotions under control. God, that used to suck."

"Your quirk is related to your emotions?" Ochako asked the boy.

"I… uhhhh… no? Kinda? I don't… know? K-Kacchan, isn't Auntie Mitsuki gonna be mad if we don't get home soon?" Izuku asked, clearly uncomfortable with the attention.

"Yeah, yeah…" Katsuki replied. He turned for the door before stopping for a moment, his gaze aimed at Ochako. "Make no mistake, I'm gonna beat you. I don't care what it takes."

Izuku lingered for a moment after Katsuki left, looking slightly unsure of himself. Then, he smiled at her, indecision vanishing.

"It's great to meet you, Uraraka! I hope we manage to have the same class!" He said, waving to her as he turned to leave, before bumping into someone who'd entered the room behind him.

"O-Oh! I'm sorry sir!" Izuku apologized, bowing slightly in front of the tall, emaciated looking blond man he'd run into.

"No worries, kiddo. Good luck with your test results," Toshinori said, patting the boy on the shoulder lightly.

"Oh, thank you sir!" Izuku said, smiling brightly. He waved to Ochako, before running after Katsuki. Ochako giggled as she could hear the two boys bickering as they walked down the hall.

"So," Toshinori said, sitting beside Ochako. "I see you've met Izuku Midoriya."

"Yeah… I'm guessing you saw that, huh?" She scratched her neck sheepishly. "I didn't mean to lose control, I guess I just panicked. I'm really glad he was there."

"I'm glad that he's here at all. I'd worried that he'd…" Toshinori trailed off, as if thinking better of it.

"All MIght? Do you know him?" She asked, furrowing her brow.

"Not personally. That's the first time we've met face to face, and he didn't know who I was. I just know _of _him."

"Is he important?" She wondered. "I mean… he has to be, for even you to know who he is."

"Young Midoriya hasn't had it easy, Uraraka. I can't tell you much, as it isn't my place, but… from what I know, from what I've been told, he views his quirk as a curse, more than anything. The scope of his power is… difficult to quantify, but certainly amazing, and yet… I believe the boy has spent much of his life fearing himself, as well as his quirk."

"His quirk… he can control wind? He must have a lot of control over it, he was able to take down the Zero Pointer," she hypothesized.

"...What you saw… what he did today doesn't constitute even a fraction of his ultimate potential."

For a moment, Ochako could only look on with surprise. Sure, she could probably take the robot down too, but it would take a lot more than a fraction of what she possessed then and there.

"You'll have the chance to see for yourself, I think. Not to spoil any surprise, but he got in. Top three in the practical exam, and the highest score on the written test," Toshinori said. Ochako hummed.

"I hope I do. I'm curious about him, and that quirk of his."

Toshinori eyed his successor, choosing to keep his thoughts to himself.

"Just… look out for him, Uraraka."

_Don't let what happened six years ago happen again._


	2. Supported

**Arc One**

_**Rise of the Three**_

* * *

Chapter Two

_Supported_

* * *

Quirk assessment was something Ochako had gotten a bit of warning for, though she didn't have too much to worry about. It had been shown many times over that _One For All _was an amazing quirk to have, with applications in nearly any scenario. Of the eight tests her teacher had laid before her class, she scored in at least the top five for each one. She, at present, stood at the top of her class! She was grateful for this, given the threat of expulsion to whomever came in last.

She had also been rather psyched to see Izuku again, though she hadn't found a chance to talk to him or Katsuki, but she never missed the glares that the fiery blond leveled at her. It seemed he really did want to overtake her. The explosive boy wasn't too far behind her, coming in third, just shy of one of the Recommended students, Shoto Todoroki. She supposed it made sense, Shoto clearly had an extreme degree of power, and was more than familiar with the applications of his quirk. It didn't surprise her. Not much had thus far.

What did surprise her was Izuku's placement. For the boy that saved her life, and destroyed the seemingly invincible Zero Pointer, it was shocking to see him at the bottom. Twentieth.

"DEKU!" Katsuki began shouting, the moment the scores were shown. "YOU IDIOT! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?!"

Izuku flinched under his foster brother's assault, looking to the ground. It was clear he was embarrassed, seeing as Katsuki had drawn a great deal of attention to the two of them. Nearly everyone in the class stared at them. He mumbled something under his breath, something only Katsuki seemed to catch.

"To hell with that! C'mon, go through the tests again, damn you!" He shouted.

"I'm afraid he can't," their teacher, Shota Aizawa, said. "Now, everyone who isn't in last place, go back to the classroom. Wait for me to get back to dismiss you, I'm going to have to hand out the class syllabus," he stopped speaking for a moment, shifting his gaze to Izuku. "Midoriya, you and I are going to take a walk."

The greenette nodded, eyes aimed at the ground. Ochako made to step forward, wanting to comfort him, but froze. What would she say? What _could_ she say? Nothing that would help, certainly.

So, as much as she hated to do it, she turned to head back to class, hoping the best for her new friend. Idly, she noticed the weather had shifted; the once clear blue sky now speckled with gray clouds.

_Looks like rain, _she thought to herself.

* * *

"Man, I feel bad for that Midoriya kid," Kirishima said. "He talked to me a bit between some of the tests, he seemed really nice."

"Yeah, but the weak gotta go," Kaminari said, a smug note to his voice. "Better now than to let him continue and get walloped by a villain."

"It _is _rather clear who the top tiers are thus far," Ashido added. "Man, Uraraka, Bakugo, Todoroki, you guys are something else!"

Ochako smiled sheepishly, the afternoon sun pouring in through the classroom windows, illuminating the room as they all stood at their desks.

"Thank you, Ashido," Ochako said. "But you guys really shouldn't underestimate Dek- I mean, Midoriya."

"Ah, but you see, he who is in last place is he who is without potential," Mineta said, proud holder of nineteenth place.

"I don't agree that he lacks potential, but he seems to lack drive. He never used his quirk in any of the tests, that doesn't make sense," Yaoyarozu added. "Admittedly, I suspected Mr. Aizawa's threat of expulsion to be empty, a ploy to get us to do our best, but… maybe after seeing someone unwilling to use their quirk, he decided to follow through with it."

"I do not wish to partake in gossip, especially concerning a former classmate, no matter how briefly they were among us," Iida interjected. "But it is worth mentioning that he was the one who destroyed the Zero Pointer during the Practical."

This shut the class up, most having shocked expressions. Even Shoto, who had yet to speak so much as a word, was paying attention now.

"They were the size of buildings, were they not?" He asked, to the surprise of everyone. He was met with several slow nods.

"How did he manage to destroy that when he can't even use his quirk for a test under threat of expulsion?" Kaminari asked, dazed.

"You're all idiots."

Every head in the room turned to the source of the voice. Katsuki had kept himself out of the conversation thus far, but something inside him seemed to have snapped.

"Sorry?" Yaoyarozu said, clearly offended.

"You're all idiots. That little shithead is the most powerful person here. By far."

There was a few moments of silence, before the entire class erupted.

"Hey, you don't have to be such a dick!"

"Wouldn't the most powerful person here be Uraraka, or one of the Recommended?!"

"You mean to say that the person in last place is the strongest?!"

Things continued on like this for a few moments, before one voice overshadowed all the rest.

"SILENCE," Tenya Iida boomed. After the class fell quiet for a second, he continued. "I understand what he said seems… unrealistic, but give him a chance to speak properly, and voice your questions one at a ti-"

"Why did he refuse to use his quirk?" Shoto asked, cutting off the taller boy. He was staring at Katsuki with a certain intensity. "If he really is the strongest, 'by far', why did he not show us for himself? Come to think of it, was he not the one who also made history, being the first to be accepted without any villain points? For one with such power, as you say, why wouldn't he show us, under threat of expulsion?"

Katsuki sneered for a moment, before his face straightened. He broke eye contact with Shoto, staring at his desk for a few moments, mulling over his words.

"Imagine…" He began. "Imagine you lived in a world of cardboard, doused in gasoline. And in this world, ready to ignite at the smallest spark, your quirk is a raging inferno. You practice for years, gaining some control over it, so that you can manage it. You bring your quirk from an inferno to a flicker," his face darkened. "But even after all that work, your world is still cardboard doused in gas. Even after all that effort to gain control, all it takes is one wrong step, one mistake, and…" He looked back up, meeting Shoto's gaze now. "Your world burns away, and with it? Everyone you've ever known."

"...You mean to say that the reason he is so hesitant to use his power is… collateral damage?" Yaoyarozu asked, stunned. "He worried he would harm us?"

"Much more than just us," Katsuki said, grimly. "If I'm being honest, were he to… fully lose control, a lot more than the nineteen of us would be at risk."

A quiet fell over many in the room. One question was at the forefront of most of their minds, however.

"Why did he take down the Zero Pointer?" Iida asked. "I did not see much, but I know he did not physically touch it. Why use his quirk then, when the stakes are arguably lower?"

Katsuki shifted his eyes to Uraraka. "'Cause, the bastard wants to be a hero above all else."

* * *

Shota could feel Izuku quiver behind him, nervous about what his teacher would have to say. As they walked, the boy shifted his weight awkwardly, trying not to tremble.

"Relax, kid," Shota said. "You aren't going home."

All at once, the boy gave a sigh of relief, his shoulders visibly relaxing as his walk began to take on a more normal gait. The midday sun watched over their trek as they walked the school grounds.

"Then… what is it you wanted to speak with me about?" Izuku asked. Internally, Shota sighed, knowing this would not be an easy conversation for either of them.

"I want to talk about Hekinan."

He may as well have shot the kid. Izuku stopped dead in his tracks, his breathing hitched, and his eyes widened. Shota recognized the way that the boy was staring at him now, that fear of condemnation. God knows he'd gotten his share of it.

"I-... how do y-you know? T-They weren't allowed to disclose my name in the media," he said, voice small.

"I was there, kid. How much of that day do you remember?" Shota asked.

"Not… not much, really. It's all blurry. I hear screams, cries for… for help. Voices c-calling me a… a m-monster. I don't… I can't forget that. Even if I wanted to. The only thing I remember with total clarity was the day after," Izuku said, not meeting Shota's eyes.

"What happened then?"

"They told me the number," his voice became quieter with every word. Shota went to respond before moisture hit his face. Puzzled, he wiped it off, looking to the sky. What had once been a cloudless, blue expanse for a sky became an endless sea of grey, foreboding storm clouds. Rain had begun to fall.

_So, he really does have to keep it under control,_ he thought to himself. Shota looked back to the child, his eyes turning red as his hair lifted up.

As soon as the teacher activated his quirk, the weather cleared, the open blue sky reforming. Despite this, the boy didn't look up, his eyes squeezed shut, as though he were lost in a nightmare. Shota wondered if he even realized what he'd done.

"Hey," Shota said, grabbing the boy's shoulder. Izuku slowly looked up, meeting his teacher's gaze. "You're okay. Do you know who I am?"

"E-Eraserhead, right? I thought so when I first saw you."

"Then you know what my quirk does?"

"It erases other's quirks, for as long as you can see them."

Shota nodded, somewhat impressed. He was hardly famous, after all. He knelt in front of his student, meeting him at eye level.

"Look, make no mistake; your quirk is nearly unrivaled in terms of wrong power. Losing control, especially after this power has developed… a lot of people could, and probably would, die."

Izuku's jaw tightened. Tears formed in his eyes, though he seemed determined not to let them fall. "Then that settles it, right? I shouldn't… I can't be a hero."

"Tell that to Uraraka."

For just a moment, Izuku's despair seemed to break. Shota realized the boy was paying keen attention now.

"You saved her, while showing a great deal of control over your quirk. Using a powerful wind to stall the robot's advance, and a gentle one to carry the injured away, simultaneously? Not many your age have that level of dexterity with their abilities. Even amongst first years at UA."

"It was a fluke."

"It was an act of heroism," Shota said, his voice becoming more authoritative. "Listen to me, in that moment, what was in your head?"

Izuku thought for a second. "I-I didn't think much, really. I just realized what would happen if I didn't do anything."

"And so you acted, without thinking. You didn't stop to worry about losing control of your quirk, you didn't wonder if you could use it to transport Uraraka to safety without hurting her, you just acted."

Izuku was watching him with rapt attention, hanging on every word his teacher said.

"The fact that you recognize how potentially deadly your quirk can be shows me that you belong here, but today, you let that fear control you. I wanted to talk to you because I need you to know that I was there, in Hekinan. My quirk is what eventually stopped you. And here, at UA, it can again. Practice your quirk, push your limits, and don't worry as much about losing control while you're here. If worst comes to worst, I'll be there to stop you, and beyond that… if you practice enough with it, you won't need me to be there anymore."

Izuku's eyes had brightened significantly, but there still lingered hints of apprehension.

"But… it's done so much harm, already. What if I do more?"

Shota gave the boy a rare sight. The slightest of smiles. "It speaks to your potential as a hero, that you worry so much about it. But, part of the reason you lack control is because you aren't fully used to using your quirk yet. It gets easier, and you aren't in this alone, yeah?"

In Izuku's mind, he saw flashes. His mother, his father, Auntie Mitsuki, Uncle Masaru, his foster brother Katsuki, and… Uraraka too. Now, even his teacher. The boy smiled at Shota, finding his answer.

"Yeah!"


End file.
